N7 Day Prompts
by Rae D. Magdon
Summary: In celebration of N7 Day: a bunch of Post-Reaper War prompts from tumblr that fit in The Best Entertainment universe.
1. Chapter 1

**Prompt:** Aria/Shepard from TBE verse. Morning after.

* * *

"Shepard?"

Shepard groaned, pulling her pillow further over her head. She knew that voice, and despite the pleasing accent, she didn't want to hear it. Whatever Miranda needed, it would just have to wait. Her skull was throbbing, her mouth tasted foul, and there were parts of her face she still couldn't feel.

"Shepard, get up."

It's like the damn Lazarus project all over again, she thought. 'Shepard… Shepard… Wake up, Shepard.'

A soft hand on her arm finally forced her to abandon her hiding place. She peeked out from beneath her pillow, blinking her blurry, aching eyes until Miranda's figure came into clear focus at the foot of the bed. Disgustingly, she was fully dressed, and she didn't have a single hair out of place. She had even brushed her teeth, judging by her smile and the light scent of mint as she leaned down.

"Why do you look so happy?" Shepard moaned, sniffing and rubbing at her nose to clear some of the early-morning stuffiness. "What time is it? And why did you wake me up?"

"I didn't drink myself stupid, it's almost afternoon, and because your guests are threatening to riot over breakfast."

The previous evening's events suddenly came rushing back to her. Tali doing impressions on the table. Garrus 'calibrating' the shower. Grunt, Wrex, and Aethyta comparing head-butting techniques. James and Ashley's flirtatious push-up contest. Poor Samantha blushing and stammering as Jack and Aria compared their prized leather jackets…

She propped herself into a sitting position, wincing as fresh scratch-marks screamed up and down her back. As she moved, her legs brushed against something warm beneath the covers. Her memory was a bit hazy, but she distinctly remembered Liara promising to take care of breakfast in return for certain favors. She glanced over, expecting to find her bondmate still asleep, but the lump beside her was the wrong shape, and the forehead peeking out from underneath the covers was intricately tattooed.

Aria. Shit. No wonder I'm sore all over. I thought it was just the ryncol.

Shepard cast an embarrassed glance at Miranda, but she only smirked and shook her head. "Don't feel too bad. Ashley had to ask Aethyta to get her underwear down from the kitchen light fixture, and Grunt woke up with his head in the toilet."

The warm body beside hers shifted, and Aria glared at them both with narrowed eyes. "And I suppose you woke up at your desk with an alphabetized pile of paperwork in front of you?" She paused to give a long, luxurious stretch, not caring when the sheets slid down to pool around her waist. "Shit, Lawson, you're worse than my bondmate."

"Where are our bondmates?" Shepard asked, taking the opposite approach and pulling the covers up to her chin. Even though Miranda had painstakingly rebuilt every inch of her body, she wanted to preserve what little remained of her modesty.

Miranda nodded her head toward the master bathroom. The hiss of running water behind the door wasn't enough to muffle a few low groans. Shepard blushed, but Aria just rolled her eyes. "Those are hangover sounds, Shepard. Besides, after what the four of us did last night, I don't think either of them will have the energy for another round until after breakfast."

Shepard rubbed awkwardly at the back of her neck. Now that she was awake, her memory was a lot clearer. She wilted under Miranda's knowing stare, even more embarrassed than before.

"Speaking of breakfast," Miranda said, deftly changing the subject, "I took a poll downstairs. Everyone who doesn't feel like throwing up wants something light."

"Could you bribe James into making eggs again?" Shepard asked, giving Miranda a hopeful look. "I, um… I think I'll need a few minutes to clean up, and I don't want to keep anyone waiting."

"You might want to put some medigel on that bruise under your eye while you're at it," Miranda said. "What happened?"

"Don't ask," Shepard mumbled.

Aria's answer was a little more specific. "Knee to the face. It's harder to fit four people in a bed than you might think."

Shepard groaned. "Could you turn around for a second, Miranda? I think I should, um, go…"

"Go?" Aria purred, sliding closer and flinging an arm around her waist. The warmth of her body had Shepard shuddering against her will. "Go where? The bathroom's occupied, and I'm not finished with you yet."

"But—" Shepard cleared her throat to keep her voice from wavering. "Miranda… breakfast…"

"Breakfast can wait," Aria whispered, warm breath tickling the shell of her ear. Shepard fisted the covers as hot lips skimmed her pulse point. "Miranda can join us or get lost."

To Shepard's horror, Miranda actually seemed to consider the invitation for a moment before shaking her head. "I think I'd better keep an eye on the others. I saw Jack and Aethyta talking before I came up to get you, so something's bound to be on fire when I go back downstairs."

Aria stopped teasing long enough to give Miranda a careless shrug. "Your loss. Get out, unless you want to watch."

"Next time, Aria. Try not to keep Shepard too long. She has host duties." With that parting comment, Miranda left, running a hand through her already-perfect hair.

Once she was gone, Shepard focused on Aria. "Did you have to do that? And I remember how I hurt my face, but what the shit did you do to my back?"

Aria didn't show an ounce of remorse. "You wouldn't have fucked me if you didn't like it. Now, hurry up. Our bondmates already have a head start on us."

Shepard tilted her head toward the bathroom door. The sounds drifting back into the bedroom had become a lot more interesting, and she suspected Tevos and Liara's shower would take a while longer. She turned back to Aria and grinned. "What the hell. Just don't kiss me. My mouth probably tastes awful."

"There are other places I can kiss you besides your mouth," Aria pointed out, rolling on top of her and pinning her to the mattress. "Just try not to scream too loud. I don't want to deal with any smug comments from Aethyta over breakfast, and that cute comm specialist of yours might actually faint."


	2. Chapter 2

**Prompt:** Shep introducing Liara and the blueberries to human food!

* * *

"Dad, is it supposed to look like human blood?"

Shepard sighed. Diana had always been a picky eater, but this had to be one of her most off-putting comments yet. "No more action vids for a little while," she said, leaning back in her chair. She had a feeling she wasn't going to get the chance to start her own meal for several minutes. "And I told you, the sauce comes from a red plant called a tomato. It isn't anything like blood."

"It tastes good," Athena said, "but it's kind of hard to eat without making a mess." She focused intently on her plate, twirling the pasta around and around on her fork. Small bits of sauce spattered across the kitchen table whenever the strands looped over themselves.

Shepard started to correct her technique, but a loud screech distracted her. Benezia was enjoying her pasta as well—so much that she had decided to dump the entire bowl down her shirt. "Shit!" Shepard hissed, diving to catch the bowl before it fell. Unfortunately, she grabbed it upside down, and the rest of the noodles spilled across the floor. "Nezzie, no! You're supposed to eat dinner, not wear it."

Benezia gurgled happily, smearing her pudgy hands through the sauce on her face. "Shih!"

"Great," Shepard muttered. "Your mom's going to kill me." She set the bowl back on the table and struggled to remove her youngest daughter from her high-chair. If she didn't rinse Benezia off first, the mess would continue to spread. Tomato sauce and stray noodles squished through her fingers, and she found herself feeling more sympathy for Diana's opinion.

"Mom says we're not allowed to swear," Athena said, still twirling her fork with intense concentration. "She says we're not allowed to repeat any words Aunt Jack and Uncle Wrex and Grandma Aethyta say unless we already know what they mean."

"Your Mom's right," Shepard said as she stripped off Benezia's ruined onesie.

A soft tug at her sleeve interrupted her. "Dad, I don't want this," Diana complained, pointing at her untouched bowl. "It looks even more like human blood now. Or guts. Or intestines."

"What the heck has your grandma been letting you watch?" Shepard groaned. "I'm pretty sure none of the vids I put on when you're around have intestines in them."

"I'll eat hers," Athena offered. Unfortunately, the large swirl of pasta on her fork chose that moment to slide off and plop directly on top of the table. "But it might take me a while."

"Take it," Diana said, shoving her bowl in Athena's direction. "Can I have crackers, Dad? Or fish sticks?"

"No fish sticks," Shepard called back as she carried Benezia over to the sink. "I think that's all you've eaten for the past two days. You're going to turn into a fish if you're not careful."

"No." Diana's face screwed up in a pout, and her lower lip trembled. "I'm gonna be a commando. The best, bravest commando ever."

Benezia shrieked in agreement, splashing and kicking. Water sloshed over the sides of the sink, and Shepard watched mournfully as it ran onto the counter. Great. More of a mess to clean up. "You know the rules, Diana. You have to try at least three bites of a new food before you say you don't like it. Otherwise, no dessert, and no playtime before bed."

Diana eyed the bowl she had pushed away warily, unable to decide whether trying the pasta was worth an entire wasted evening.

"You know," Shepard said, "sometimes real soldiers have to eat whatever they can find. What would you do if you were a commando on an alien world and your ship crashed, or your rations went bad?"

"That doesn't happen," Diana insisted, but her expression didn't look so confident. "…Right? Have you ever had to do that, Dad?"

"Are you kidding?" Shepard laughed. She propped Benezia on her hip and carried her back over to the table. "After the Reaper war ended, Earth was a wreck. We ate whatever we could get our hands on."

Athena set down her fork and pulled a face, but Diana's eyes widened with interest. "Really? The commandos, too?"

"Especially the commandos. They needed plenty of fuel for their biotics."

Diana leaned further forward, clearly in awe. "They didn't eat the humans, did they?" she whispered.

Shepard shook her head. "No, but eating from the garbage wasn't out of the question, and expiration dates became 'guidelines'."

"I don't believe you," Athena said. "Garbage? That's too disgusting to be true."

"Ask your grandma if you don't believe me," Shepard told her. She continued watching Diana out of the corner of her eye, fighting not to smile as her daughter pulled the bowl back. "Things weren't much different on Thessia."

Finally, after a long hesitation, Diana speared a glob of pasta with her fork. She wrinkled her nose and studied it closely before shoving it into her mouth all at once. Shepard watched her chew, waiting patiently for the verdict. "Ish okeh," Diana mumbled, one cheek still stuffed full. "Doesnh taste likh blooh."

Shepard grinned. "Congratulations, Captain T'Soni. You and your squad are no longer going to starve."

Before she could relish her victory, however, a gasp came from the other side of the room. Shepard turned, and her smile fell when she saw Liara standing in the doorway, surveying the kitchen with a shocked expression. "Goddess, Shepard, what happened?"

"Uh…" Shepard's eyes moved from the giant puddle of pasta on the floor, to Benezia's ruined outfit, to the bits of tomato dripping down Diana's chin. "Guess that means I'll be doing clean-up in addition to cooking, huh?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Prompt #1:** Lycoris and Tevos bonding, please! :D

 **Prompt #2:** Hello Rae! There are a few mentions of Tevos' nightmares in TBE series. I was wondering if we'd ever get some insight into one, and how she (and Aria?) might handle that? :)

 **Prompt #3:** Yay! This anon was very happy with the little Lycoris story! : Protective!daddyAria is the best, so friggen cute. Only… I find that the past chapter in Moments in Time hasn't abated my craving for more Tevos family. …I think I may have discovered an addiction. Pls help. :O

* * *

 _The lake is on fire. The trees, the grass, the flowers of the Presidium are burning, devoured by thick columns of smoke. It pours into her lungs, searing her clogged throat, but she coughs and chokes and keeps going. She has to keep going. Aria is somewhere on the station…_

 _A loud boom shakes the buildings around her. She screams, but she can't even hear her own voice. The piercing wail of the warning sirens and the unearthly shrieks of the Banshees blot out everything else. The Citadel is lost. Aria is lost. Everything she's done has been for nothing…_

"Wake up!"

Tevos jolted upright, clutching a hand to her chest. Her lungs still burned, but not from smoke. She wasn't in the Presidium, and the Reapers weren't attacking the Citadel. She was in her own apartment, in her own room, in her own bed. She sagged over with relief, bringing a hand up to rest against her sweat-soaked forehead. _Just another nightmare. Thank the Goddess._

She blinked against the darkness, trying to calm her racing heart and figure out who had woken her. The space Aria usually occupied beside her was empty, but there was a small, familiar shadow beside her bed. "Lycoris?" she asked, summoning her biotics to lend the room some light. "What are you doing here? You should be asleep."

Lycoris didn't wait to be invited into the bed. She hopped up on her own, feet skidding a little as she squirmed on top of the mattress. "You were screaming, and it wasn't Daddy Alone Time. I got scared."

Tevos sighed. She hadn't meant to frighten her daughter, but she often woke screaming thanks to the nightmares. They weren't as frequent as they had been a few years ago, but they still haunted her sleeping hours, especially when she was under more stress than usual. "I didn't mean to scare you," she whispered, shepherding Lycoris into her lap. "I screamed on accident. I was asleep."

"You scream in your sleep?" Lycoris looked up at her with a furrowed brow, not at all reassured. "Why?"

Tevos remained silent, torn with indecision. _I know she has to find out about the war sometime… I just didn't think it would be so soon. She's so young._ Still, she had promised herself before Lycoris's birth that she would never purposefully tell her a lie. "I was afraid. Sometimes when I'm asleep, I remember scary things that happened to me a long time ago."

"How long, Mama?"

"Well before you were born." She stroked the top of Lycoris's crest, pulling her in for a hug. "Back then, there was an army of giant machines called the Reapers. They were tall and black with bright red lights, and they wanted to destroy the Citadel, and Thessia, and even Omega."

Lycoris paused to digest the new information. "Reapers…" she whispered, snuggling in tighter. "But they couldn't destroy Omega. Daddy wouldn't let them."

Tevos smiled. Lycoris's faith in Aria was endearing. She was still at the incredibly biased age where her father could do no wrong. "You're right, sweetheart. Your father didn't let them destroy Omega. She protected it with all her strength. And when the Reapers came to Thessia and the Citadel, your Aunt Shepard stopped them. She asked the krogan, the turians, the quarians, and the geth to join her army, and together, they made sure there were no Reapers left to hurt us."

"Wow. Did Aunt Shepard really do all that?" Lycoris asked with wide eyes.

Tevos nodded. "Yes. Your Aunt Shepard is the bravest human in the entire galaxy. That's why her statue is in the Presidium and on Thessia."

"What about the asari? Did they help Aunt Shepard too?"

Once again, Tevos hesitated. Lycoris had unknowingly brought up one of her greatest shames. All these years later, she still felt guilty whenever she remembered how slowly and selfishly she and her people had acted. Like the nightmares haunted her sleep, regret often haunted her waking hours. "Not soon enough, my dear. Our people didn't want to believe the Reapers were coming. They were too afraid… I was too afraid. That's what I see in my nightmares. I see the Reapers coming back, and I can't do anything to stop them."

While she hung her head, Lycoris grasped her forearm, clutching it to offer reassurance. "Don't be sad, Mama. You said Aunt Shepard stopped the Reapers."

"She did," Tevos said with a weak smile. "That's what I tell myself whenever I wake up from a bad dream. The Reapers are gone, and Shepard is still here to protect us. And your father is here to protect you and me."

"But Daddy's on Omega." Lycoris left her lap, scooting over to her side and squirming underneath the covers. "Can I sleep in your bed? To protect you from Reapers?"

Tevos's smile grew. She settled back down and pulled Lycoris into her arms, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. The nightmares did seem much more distant with her daughter in her arms, a part of her past instead of her present. "Of course. I'm sure you can banish any Reapers that come our way."


	4. Chapter 4

**Prompt:** Aria/Tevos - Holiday

This one takes place on Nevos during Tevos and Aria's honeymoon. :D

* * *

Aria eyed the brightly lit storefront with uncertainty. _'Sea of Ink'_ looked a little touristy from the outside with its ocean-themed décor, but it seemed clean and safe enough. Still, she felt strangely hesitant. Although she had guessed they would end up here while walking the strip beside the beach—Tevos had never been good at hiding her extranet searches—she wasn't prepared.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, dropping Tevos's hand.

Tevos smiled and shook her head, not in the least bit worried. "You're joking. What do you have to be nervous about? You aren't the one getting tattooed."

Aria scowled when she realized she didn't have a good response. She and Tevos had already signed all the paperwork, said their vows, and tied their ribbons, but a tattoo felt like a commitment... and she had never been very good at keeping commitments outside of revenge. "I'm not nervous," she snapped, folding her arms in on herself. "It's just a little strange that you want a part of me on your body forever, okay?"

If Tevos was put out by her pouting, she didn't let it show. "Well, I can always get it removed the next time you do something monumentally stupid..."

"No," Aria said, a little too quickly. As perturbed as she was by the thought of Tevos getting a tattoo in her honor, the thought of Tevos _not_ getting it was somehow even worse. "It's your body. Do whatever you want. Get a tattoo, get a hundred tattoos..."

"As... interesting... as that would be, I don't think I'll be following Jack's example any time soon." Tevos reached out to take her hand again, and this time, Aria let her hold it. "The recovery after I got my family tattoos was bad enough."

Aria winced in sympathy. She had worn several different faces over the course of her life, and though the pain was nothing compared to crushed ribs or a gunshot wound, facial tattoos were no picnic, even with topical medigel to ease the soreness. "If it hurt so much, why do you want another one?"

"Because I find the idea arousing," Tevos drawled, lacing their fingers tighter and giving her a sidelong glance.

Aria could have made a smart comment, but her new bondmate's answer was far from satisfactory. "No, really. I'm not letting you go in there and show some stranger your ass until you tell me why you want it inked."

Tevos's lips twitched in a smirk. "What happened to _'It's your body, Tevos. Do whatever you want, Tevos. Get a hundred tattoos, Tevos...'_ "

Aria's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "It's _my_ body now too, and stop being a smartass."

"If 'smartass' is your best attempt at a joke right now, you should take lessons from Commander Shepard," Tevos said. But then she sighed and stopped teasing. "Fine. If you need me to spell it out for you, I will. I know you aren't always going to be with me. You'll be off on Omega half the time beating up thugs, smuggling weapons, hiring strippers for Afterlife..."

"I don't hire the strippers myself," Aria protested. "I have people for that."

"My point is still relevant. You have other obligations, and as irritating as you can be sometimes, I'm going to miss you when you're gone." Tevos leaned over to rest against her shoulder, and Aria felt her heart clench. "I want to keep a piece of you with me. And if you think that's silly, so be it. I'm doing it anyway."

After a long moment, Aria eased Tevos away from her shoulder and gave her a gentle push toward the door. "Come on," she said, keeping a possessive hand at the small of Tevos's back. "Let's get this done before the strip gets crowded again."


	5. Chapter 5

**Prompt:** Maybe a short scene of Liara playing doctor to Shepard after she gets hurt on a mission?

Okay, I think this is the last N7 Day Prompt I'm doing. :D But don't worry, there were one or two REALLY good ones that I'd like to turn into longer stories when I have more time (especially the one about Khalisah). They're going in the prompt folder. This one is SFW. Shiara fluff, PG rating.

* * *

"Having a bad day, Shepard?"

When Shepard lifted her head and glanced toward the med-bay door, she wasn't at all surprised to see Liara lingering there. Usually, it was a chore to get Liara to leave her cabin and her Broker feeds, but her lover always seemed to venture out after rough missions. It was as if she could sense every physical injury, every near-death experience, even every nightmare. Shepard didn't know why Liara was so attuned to her, but she was grateful nevertheless. Liara's face was a very welcome sight

"That's becoming a catch phrase with you, isn't it?" she asked, still cradling her elbow. Even though Doctor Chakwas had already applied medigel to her broken arm, feeling her bones knit back together wasn't exactly pleasant, and neither was the temporary cast the good doctor had forced her to wear.

Liara smiled and entered the med-bay, letting the door whoosh shut behind her as she strode over to the exam table. "Not to be pessimistic, but we are in the middle of a war. I could ask you that question as often as I wanted, and I wouldn't often be wrong."

Shepard's brow furrowed. "So, why are you smiling?"

"Because you are still alive." Liara reached out to caress the side of her face, brushing a thumb over the point of her cheek. The texture of her gloves was a little strange, but her hands were warm, and Shepard felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. "Another bad day means you are still here to keep fighting… and it means I have another day to spend with you."

Shepard closed her eyes, leaning further into Liara's caress. "And you're worried about being a pessimist. You're a secret romantic, aren't you, Doctor T'Soni?"

Soft lips pressed to the center of her forehead. "I am secretive about many things," Liara murmured into her skin, "but not that. Don't you remember when we met? It seems so much longer than three years ago…"

Shepard opened her eyes, gazing up into Liara's face. They had both changed drastically since their days on the SR-1, but something about Liara was still the same. Deep down, she held onto hope despite all the things she had endured. Losing her mother, losing Thessia, losing…

"You aren't going to lose me again any time soon, okay?" Shepard said, resting her hand over Liara's. She brought it down to her shoulder and laced their fingers together, ignoring the slight discomfort. "I promise."

Liara's smile faded and her eyes darted away. "Please, Shepard. Do not make promises you cannot keep, no matter how desperately I want to hear them. Just… let me keep appreciating each day. I need something to be grateful for while everything is falling apart."

Part of her wanted to argue, but she remained quiet as Liara let go of her hand and began examining her arm. "It doesn't hurt," she said, noticing the worry in Liara's eyes. "Just a scratch, nothing I can't handle. Doctor Chakwas says I only need to keep the cast on for twenty four hours."

"I suppose a woman who came back from the dead would call a broken arm a 'scratch'," Liara sighed.

"Chakwas told you, didn't she? Is that how—"

Liara shook her head. "The entire crew tells me what happens on your missions, Shepard. Every time you leave the ship without me, they inform me as soon as you return. I insist on it."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Shepard said. "You are the Shadow Broker."

"I am more than that. They know it, and they respect it. Even Javik has come to the 'Commander's Asari' with his worries about you."

"Javik? Now that's something." Shepard snorted, then winced when the slight movement aggravated her arm more than expected. "Ugh, this medi-gel isn't working fast enough. I'm fine, I promise."

"I know you are. But just in case…" Liara leaned in, pressing a light kiss on top of her cast. She couldn't feel it through the material, but the sight made the dull, itching throb more bearable. Another followed, this time on top of her exposed shoulder, and finally, Liara moved in to kiss her mouth. Their lips lingered for several moments, and by the time Liara pulled away, almost all the pain was gone.

"Wow… that actually helped," Shepard said with a grin. "I thought you weren't that kind of Doctor?"

Liara rolled her eyes, but her smile returned, and a purple flush blossomed beneath her freckles. "I don't think kissing your injuries better constitutes real medical attention, but if they make your bad days a little less awful, you may have all the kisses you want."

"Good," Shepard said, using her good arm to draw Liara closer. "Just don't make promises you can't keep, because I intend to collect."


End file.
